I hope this is something fixable...This afternoon, I discovered my CT-17 lit-up like a Christmas tree. Every input/output LED was on, and the volume knob was rotated full-up, and its LED was also red. This was, of course, odd, since the unit is normally in standby mode, with only the red light in the upper-left on.

I rotated the volume knob back to full-down, but it immediately rotated itself back to full-on. I tried using the remote to power the unit on/off, but the unit wouldn't respond to the remote (yes, fresh batteries). So, I manually power-cycled the unit. When it came back on, the LEDs were still lit, and the volume knob was red and rotated itself back to full-up.

I've unplugged it, and removed it from my system, hoping that all it might need is to cool off. It was pretty warm, for some reason.

Can anyone give me any hope that my trusty CT-17 hasn't died? I've had it since it was new, and it's been a great match to my Kenwood Basic M2A amp.

I read your post with interest this afternoon as I also have a ct-17 preamp, never heard of that happening & just kinda forgot about it & went to work 3 to 11, when I got home at 11 & pulled into garage/mancave & was walking through to get up to the house I glanced over at my stereo & said WTF?? MY CT-17 pre was all lit up in red just like I read about yours 8 hours earlier!!! I could not believe it!! felt it & it was pretty warm so I pulled the plug & plugged back in & they stayed out, hit the power button & it came on like normal, powered up amp & cd player to check & it all worked ok?? what are the odds that this would happen after I read about it earlier in the day? a fuckin million to one? should of bought a damn lottery ticket I guess!! dont know what the hell would cause this but my ct-17 would not respond to the remote ever since I was laid up with heart problems so it sat a good 6 months without being used & the standby light does not come on anymore either, weather this has anything to do with this freakish event or not I do not know, if anyone has any ideas please let us know because this is damn strange!! if you own a ct-17 watch out as I think it is a epidemic!!! help!!

Wow. That is weird.Well, the good news is that, after letting it sit overnight, my CT-17 seems to power-up normally, and responds to the remote. Next step is to reinstall in my system and see how it sounds. *crosses fingers*

The hot symptom suggest something is pulling enough current to heat up voltage regulators. Cooling down and plugging back in may gain function for a while, but I'd be surprised if it lasted very long.

Electrolytic capacitors should be considered to have a life of 7-10 years. If it lives a good life, some may double that. Some don't make the 7. Especially if it's a hot environment or subjected to higher ripple or close in tolerance.

How old are these units? Recapping time is probably come and gone. If they start breaking down, then other things can go which aren't so easy.

If you happened to have these units in a place that got temporarily hotter than normal, then this may have shown up as an early warning that it's time.....even if it works again after cooling

"The hot symptom suggest something is pulling enough current to heat up voltage regulators. Cooling down and plugging back in may gain function for a while, but I'd be surprised if it lasted very long."I think mark is probably correct on his assessment that you better look at getting it looked at by someone or it will soon be a doorstop!!

Not to throw a damper on festivities, but that doesn't really change anything unless you had a curtain open yesterday in an unusual way and had direct sunlight on it which will never happen again. As in, unless there were unusual circumstances, it was a warning and ignoring it can be risking greater penalty, which may include something fatal. Whew...I'm glad I'm not a judge handing down...never mind!

I witnessed my unit do the same. Power on/off switch had no effect, lights were on, the volume knob drove to maximum volume and the light in the knob turn red. I unplugged the unit, turned the volume down, plugged it back in and everything reset and operated properly. It happend when the household power was unstable and flucuating. The house power never went out, but it was in a pulsing brown-out condition for about two seconds.